FARM AND DAIRY

Waipa Post, Volume 45, Issue 3213, 6 August 1932, Page 2

FARM AND DAIRY

NOTES OP THE WEEK. THE HIGH PRODUCER. Difficult times are making the value of the high producer more apparent than ever, and the day is at hand when she will be the aim of every farmer as she is of herd-testing today. It is true that the high producer demands more attention than teh ordinary animal, just as a complicated machine needs more care than a very simple machine; but those who are chary of high producers and of testing because of this should consider these points, First, just as the wage-earner must work for a higher wage, so must the farmer expect to do likewise for the acquirement of higher profits. Second, since testing means the elimination of low producers, the attention previously tehirs can be transferred to' their higherproducing herd mates, thus in a degree repudiating the argument as regards the need <"'. extra attention. Just as it is being' realised that the large and unwieldy farm is a poor proposition compared wit hthe small farm, where every inch of land can be utilised to the fullest extent, so it has come to be acknowledged that the small herd of high producers is considerably more desirable than the big herd of lower-producing animals. It seems highly probable that farming of the future will mean smaller areas and herds, the elimination of all waste, and making every unit a profitable one.

SPLENDID HERD PERFORMANCE. The great increase in the amount of butter and cheese produced in the North Auckland district last season has been accompanied by a number of outstanding 1 herd performances. Probably the best is that of a herd of' 36 young Jersey grades, the property of Mr H. Beaumont, of Maunu, which headed the list of the Wihangarei Herd-testing Association. In 288 days this splendid herd averaged 374 lbs fat, which, in view of the fadt that half of the number were but first and second calvers, is a performance of ho mean order. One member of the herd was the highest individual producer in the Association, with 560 lbs fat. The bull in large measure responsible for the development of the herd ■was a pedigree Jersey, Jerseydene Squire which was by Idalia's Royalty, which, of course, was from that great cow, Idalia, V.H.C., full sister to Vivandiere, C.O.R. 1036 lbs fat, world's record-holder on twice-a-day milking. The dam of Jerseydene Squire was a granddaughter of The Owl's Victor (imp.) The area of Mr Beaumont's farm is

70 acres, and, in addition to the herd, it carried a fair quantity of other stock. Liberal top-dressing of slag and superphosphate at the rate of 5 cwt to the acre is practised, while lime is also freely applied. WESTLAND'S EXAMPLE. Practically all that the average New Zealander associates with Westland is gold, coal, and plenty of rain; but, apart from these decided advantages, that part of the Dominion is generally presumed to be a wild, desolate piece of country, with certainly no pretensions to dairying advancement. Yet, in one phase at least of modern farming, Westland leads New Zealand. No less than 50 per cent of the cows in Westland are under group herd test, as against the proportion for the whole of New Zealand of only 16 per cent; and that the Cattle down there can hold their own with their sisters in more favoured dairying localities is evidenced by the fact that the 5962 cows tested by the West Coast Herdtesting Association last season was 233.59 lbs fat in 227 days. It is only two years ago that Mr C. M. Hume, Dominion supervisor of herd-testing, carried the gospel of herd improvement into New Zealand's youngest dairying district. The coast farmers were quick to realise the advantages that testing offered them, and in a very short time an association was formed. Now*.in the second year of its existence, it has tested 50 per cent of the cows on the coast. JERSEY HERD ON SHEEP COUNTRY.

The best performance in the Wairoa (H. 8.) Herd-testing Association for last season was that of a herd of 39 pedigree and grade Jerseys, the property of Messrs Shaw Bros., Wairoa, which averaged 372 lbs fat in 287

days. Considering the class of country on which the herd is milked—light sheep country with only a few acres of flat—the average returned by this herd is comparable with any performance registered in New Zealand this season. The older pedigree cows in the herd are animals purchased from different breeders, and of late Messrs Shaw Bros, have been using Cornelia's Chief, a son of imported Masterful. The herd, in addition to its high productive ability, is possessed of a good deal of breed type, as evidenced by the outstanding performances of its members at the last Wairoa show. PRODUCTION OF MILK.

Every day grassland farming is assuming greater importance. Good, well-balanced grass land, with ryegrass in particular dominating, completely fertilised and fed in the leaf stage, provides the finest foods for milk-producing animals: and milk and the things made from it are becoming more and more important in the diet of human beings. Recently Sir Walter M. Fletcher, D.Sc, M.D., F.R.S., etc., made this profound statement: " It would be greatly to the interest of public health that agriculture should be so guided as to reduce the national consumption of cereals (grains) and greatly increase the consumption of milk."

But the best assurance we have as to the future Stability of grass-land farming and milk production is the way in which milk and its products are maintaining a relatively satisfactory position on world markets while other branches of agriculture (except where protected by tariffs) are in a parlous state; and there is no branch of farming which offers such possi- , " ■ ' '■••>- return per acre

as grass production. It will amply repay all the study and attention we can give it. In too many cases—in the majority of cases—grass is the most crudely-treated thing in the sphere of agriculture; biit those who are treating it as a crop, to be liberally and completely fertilised, and controlled and fed to the best advantage, are reaping the reward. Few farmers can make dairying profitable at present prices, but there are farmers —men who are giving proper attention to their pastures who could make milk production pay at even lower prices than are at present ruling. These good grass-land farmers, by the way, are not those who are farming larger areas than they can manage, but are men who can properly apply the principles of sourfd ' grass-land farming—complete fertilisation, cultivation and harrowfng, rotational grazing, and feeding the grass only in the leaf stage—farmers who 3"D concentrating on pasture improvement and herd improvement as the two main factors in profitable milk production.